The decision makes sense if Garcetti wants to run for president because he can now spend a good part of 2018 campaigning in states like New Hampshire and Iowa instead of in California cities like Glendale and Fresno, said John “Jack” J. Pitney Jr., a professor of government and politics at Claremont McKenna College.

“The gubernatorial campaign would use up enormous amounts of time and resources,” Pitney said. “This step preserves the option of running for president. He may not decide to jump off that board, but at least he can still plausibly make that decision.”

The announcement does not come as a surprise given that there are already three prominent progressive Democrats running for governor — Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California Treasurer John Chiang, said Fernando Guerra, a professor at Loyola Marymount University and director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles. Democrat Delaine Eastin, former superintendent of public instruction, is also among those vying for the governor’s seat.

It would have been difficult for Garcetti to distinguish himself from the gubernatorial field not only in policy but in position, he said. Both Newsom and Villaraigosa are former mayors. In addition, Garcetti would have gotten a late start compared to the others in terms of endorsements, contributions and general support.

Garcetti’s name had also circulated as a possible contender for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat. But Feinstein, 84, announced earlier this month that she planned to run for a fifth full term in 2018 and Garcetti has thrown his support behind her. State Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, who is considered urban, progressive and Latino like Garcetti, is now taking on Feinstein in an effort to win the veteran senator’s seat.

“Given the candidates running for governor and the candidates running for U.S. Senate, the only thing left for (Garcetti) to do is run for president,” Guerra said. “And the reason is he can distinguish himself much more as a candidate for president against that potential field than he could distinguish himself for candidates running for governor and U.S. Senate.”

Garcetti political adviser, Yusef Robb, said Sunday that the mayor would have been a “a very competitive candidate” for governor, something echoed by political pundits.

“But L.A. is home and is such a tremendous platform from which to launch big things on jobs, infrastructure and more,” Robb wrote in an email. He cited Measure M transportation projects, homelessness initiatives and airport and port investments as well as the rising Silicon Beach, home to hundreds of tech startups on greater Los Angeles’ west side.

Meanwhile, there’s currently no clear frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Garcetti could distinguish himself as an expert of urban policy in light of the fact that the vast majority of voters in the Democratic Party live in urban areas, Guerra said.

There are other factors that also distinguish Garcetti on a national level, he added. During his tenure, he’s delivered not only the Summer Olympics in 2028 but two NFL teams and the World Series.

“It speaks to his ability to be able to negotiate and communicate the essence and positive position of Los Angeles,” Guerra said.

A majority of local Los Angeles County residents polled earlier this summer said they are fine with Garcetti running for president, according to a recent Loyola Marymount University survey.

Nearly 63 percent of Los Angeles County residents said they would be “strongly supportive” or “somewhat supportive” of Garcetti trying for the nation’s top political post.

But whether the local support will translate to national support is not yet clear.

When asked about Garcetti’s chances to be elected president, Guerra said the LA mayor probably has about a 5 percent chance at this point. But he argued “that’s actually pretty good since “I don’t think there’s anybody else that has a 10 percent chance of winning right now.”

While no U.S. president has been elected president while serving as mayor, the most recent presidential election has proven that Garcetti’s chances could be just as good as the next potential candidate, he added.

“If we can elect someone like Donald Trump, we can elect anyone,” Guerra said.

In a similar vein, Pitney noted that Garcetti has “very little” national recognition outside of California.

“Practically nobody knows who he is but that is true of most presidential candidates and that was true of (former U.S. President) Barack Obama in 2005,” he said.

Brenda Gazzar is a multilingual multimedia reporter who has worked for a variety of news outlets in California and in the Middle East since 2000. She has covered a range of issues, including breaking news, immigration, law and order, race, religion and gender issues, politics, human interest stories and education. Besides the Los Angeles Daily News and its sister papers, her work has been published by Reuters, the Denver Post, Ms. Magazine, the Jerusalem Post, USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, The Cairo Times and others. Brenda speaks Spanish, Hebrew and intermediate Arabic and is the recipient of national, state and regional awards, including a National Headliners Award and one from the Associated Press News Executives' Council. She holds a dual master's degree in Communications/Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.